Blast-furnace top.



No. 685,498. Patented 001. 29, IQOI. s. w. VAUGHEN. BLAST FURNAGETOP.

(Application filed bee. 5, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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No. 685,498. Patented Oct. 29, ml.

. s. w. VAUGHEN.

BLAST FURNACE TOP.

(Application filed Dec. 5, 1899.)

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NTTIED STATES PATENT Carton,

SAMUEL W. VAUGHEN, OF JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA,

BLAST-FURNACE TOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 685,498, dated October29, 1901.

7 Application filed December 5, 1899, Serial No. 739,247 (No model.)

To all whom it may-concern;

Be it known that I, SAMUEL W.VAUGHEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Johnstown, in the county of Oainbria and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBlast-Furnace Tops; and I hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of my invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in the tops of blastfurnaces whereby they may be charged with stock in a proper, convenient,and expeditious manner, and the construction and operation of myimproved blast-furnace top are such that a furnace provided with it maybe charged without the necessity of the employment of workmen or topfillers to dump the stock into the upper receptacle, and for this reasonthe difficulties and dangers consequent upon the employment of saidtop-fillers are thereby ob- Viated.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a top-filling apparatuswhich is firmly secured to the shell or body of the furnace in such away that it will not become disarranged by the dust or gas explosionswhich occur in smelting certain kinds of ores, and in order to giveproper and sufficient vent to the gases occasioned by such explosions Iprovide a large number of safety-valves or explosiondoors through whichthe excess of pressure may be discharged, thus leaving the chargingapparatus intact and ready for operation at all times.

My improved apparatus is so constructed that a charge is dropped intothe furnace-top at a number of points, thus providing for the uniformdistribution of the charge throughout the cross-sectional area of theblast-fur nace, which is conducive of best results in the reducing andsmelting operation. In addition to this my apparatus is so constructedthat as the top is opened for the introduction of the charge the gasesare not permitted to escape, but are retained by an upper closureforming a gas seal, and by this means practically all the combustiblegases are preserved for use in heating the hot-blast stoves or boilersand the upper apparatus of the furnace is preserved from destructivecontact with the flames which are ordinarily occasioned when the gasesare permitted to escape into the air at the time of dropping a charge.

Having thus given a general description of the objects of my invention,I will now proceed to describe my improved apparatus with reference tothe accompanying two sheets of drawings, which form part of thisspecification and in which like letters refer to like parts.

Figure l is a vertical elevation of my improved blast-furnace top. Fig.2is a horizontal sectional plan taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 4. Fig. 3is an alternative arrangement of the receiving-hopper R, the body ofwhich has a less taper than that shown in Figs. 1 and 4 and is providedwith a funnel-shaped top to make its upper diameter sufficiently largeto receive the material properly. Fig.

4 is a central vertical section of my improved blast-furnace top, alsoshowing a skip in dolted lines in position for discharging material intothe receiving-hopper. Fig. 5 is a partial vertical section of analternative form of my improved top, in which the upper spider orsupporting-framework is protected by fire-proofing bricks or othermaterial, so as to provide a fiat arch, thus decreasing the amount ofroom required for the construction. Fig. 6 is a central vertical sectionof the alternative arrangement of my receivinghopper, as shown inelevation in Fig. 3

Referring now to .the various characters of reference marked upon thedrawings, A is the upper portion of a blast-furnace provided with myimproved apparatus.

B represents ports or passages formed within the upper furnace-wallsconnecting the interior of the furnace with the exterior air, said portsbeing normally closed by means of the explosion-doors B, said doorsbeing hinged so as to automatically open with excess of pressure in thefurnace and close by gravity when said excess has been relieved.

O, as shown in Fig. 4, is a brick arch composing-the top of theblast-furnace, in which I provide the vertical openings 0', throughwhich the stock or material is fed to the furnace, and O" is theequivalent flat-arch construction as shown in Fig. 5.

D represents beams forming a spider or support for the upper portion ofmy charging apparatus, said beams being securely fastened to the shellof the furnace by means of the connections Z, thus securing the chargingapparatus from displacement by explosions or other causes. Although thisspider or support is shown in the drawings as composed of I-beams, I donot limit myself to this exact design, as other equivalent constructionmay be used.

E is a platform surrounding the charging apparatus, so as to give accessthereto, if required, and F is the bottom plate of my chargingapparatus, which is securely fastened to the spider D by means of thebolts J, said bottom plate being provided with a number of openings 0,as shown.

G is a central pivot provided on the bottom plate F, which is fittedinto a corresponding central opening in the upper revolubledistributing-chamber H.

I represents wheels on the revoluble distributing-chamber H, said wheelsbeing supported on the track F of the lower plate F, and said chamber His retained in place by means of the clips J, as shown.

K represents fluid-pressure cylinders provided with the plunger N andcross-head L, which latteris connected by means of the pin N to therevoluble distributing-chamber H for the purpose of turning it about itscenter.

0 represents openings in the lower portion of the distributing-chamberH, which are arranged to register with the corresponding openings 0 ofthe bottom plate F when desired, thus making communication between saidchamber H and the upper portion of the blast-furnace by the action ofthe cylinders K and their connections, or, similarly, the saiddistributing-chainher H maybe revolved throughout a portion of itscircumference in such a way that said openings 0 are opposite the solidportions of the plate F, thus closing communication between saiddistributingchamber and the upper portion of the blastfurnace.

P is the upper conical portion of the distributing-chamber I-I, formingpart of the cover thereof, in which are provided the doors Q forpermitting access to said chamber, if desired, and said doors also willact as reliefvalves if occasion requires, as may be readily understood.

R is the receiving-hopper, which is in the form of the frustum of acone, as shown in Figs. 1 and at, while in the alternative form shown inFigs. 3 and 6 said receiving-hopper R is of similar form, but with lesstaper and is provided with an upper funnel-shaped top S.

T is the distributing and closing cone, forming a portion of thedistributing-chamber H, upon which the lower portion of thereceiving-hopper normally rests, and said cone also serves to supportthe stock when it is contained within the receiving-hopper R.

W is a fluid-pressure cylinder provided with supports X, plunger U androds Y connecting it to the receiving-hopper R, whereby said receiving-hopper may be lowered as desired or raised, as indicated by thedotted lines in Fig. 4.

V represents guides and side supports for the receiving-hopper R, and Vrepresents slides formed on said receiving-hopper for guiding it in itsvertical motion within the supports V.

In Fig. t the skip a is indicated by dotted lines, said skip being onemeans of transporting the stock or charge to the receiving-hopper R.

The various movements of the differentportions of my apparatus may becontrolled by valves located below the furnace-top on the ground-levelor otherwise, as desired.

Having thus described my improved apparatus in detail, I will nowproceed to describe its operation as follows:

The normal or non-operative position of the distributing-chamber II isadjusted by means of the cylinders K and their connections in such a waythat the openings 0 of the same are opposite the solid portions of thelower bottom plate F. Meanwhile the receiving-hopper R is in its lowerposition, as shown in Fig. 4, whereupon the stock or charge is dumpedinto said receiving-hopper R by means of the skip a or otherwise, asdesired. The receiving-hopper R is preferably so proportioned as to holdan entire skip-load consisting of either fuel, ore, flux, or mixture, asdesired. After the charge has thus been placed in the receiving-hopper Bsaid hopper is raised by means of the cylinder W and its connections,thus causing the stock to slide down the distributing and closing cone Tin all directions into the annular portion of the. distributing-chamberH. After this has been accomplished the distributingchamber R is loweredinto contact with the distributing and closing cone T, and thedistributing-chamber H is then turned through a portion of a revolutionby means of the cylinders K and their connections, thus causing theopenings 0 in the bottom of said distributing-chamber to register withthe openings O in the bottom plate F, whereupon the stock is dischargedfrom the annular portion of the distributing-chamber H through saidopenings 0 O, thence through the openings 0 in the brickwork, andthereby deposited in the upper portion of the furnace. It will beobserved that this operation of charging the stock into the furnacetakes place at a large number of points, thus securing a very uniformand even distribution of the materials. In oharging a furnace with myapparatus I prefer to dump each skip-load or hopperful of materialseparately into the furnace by means of the revoluble chamber II; but Imay otherwise hold two or more hopperfuls in the receiving-chamber anddump them together into the furnace if this practice is considered to beexpedient or desirable. In case two or more hopperfuls are retainedwithin the distributing-chamber to be dumped into thefurnace at once thesaid distributing chamber should obviously be large enough to containthe number of hopperfuls desired, and I therefore do not limit myself toany exact proportions of these various receptacles.

In the drawings of my apparatus I have shown the bottom of thedistributing-chamber H as provided with six solid portions and sixopenings 0, with a similar number of openings 0 and O in the bottomplate F and through the brickwork of the furnace, respectively; but itis obvious that I could use a greater or less number of openings ifconvenient or desirable.

I do not limit myself to the details of the construction shown, but maymake such modifications as are fairly included in the scope of myinvention and set forth in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a blast-furnace top, the combination of a covereddistributing-chamber provided with a closing-cone arranged therein, asupport for and beneath said cone carried by the top of the furnace, areceiving-hopper movably arranged in the upper part of thedistributing-chamber and in position to seat on said cone, and means forraising and lowering said receiving-hopper.

2. In a blast-furnace top, the combination of a port-plate provided witha series of openings and intervening solid portions, a closeddistributing chamber revolubly mounted thereon having a similar seriesof openings arranged to register with the openings in said port-plate,and means for revolving said distributing-chamber as desired.

3. In a blast-furnace top, the combination of a metal port-plate on thetop of the furnace provided with a series of radially-arranged openingsand intervening solid portions,a revoluble closed distributing-chambermounted thereon provided with a similar series of radially-arrangedopenings adapted to register with the openings in said port-plate, andmeans for revolving said distributing-chamber as desired.

4. In a blast-furnace top, the combination of a circular port-plateprovided witha series of radially-arranged openings and interveningsolid portions,a distributing-chamber revolubly mounted thereon andprovided with a similar series of radially-arranged openings adapted toregister with the openings in said port-plate, .the outer side walls ofsaid distributing-chamber being sloped outwardly and the inner sidewalls being sloped inwardly to facilitate the discharge of materialthere'- from, and means for revolving said distributing-chamber asdesired.

5. In' a blast-furnace top, the combination .of a port-plate providedwith a series of radially-arranged openings and intervening solidportions, a distributing-chamber revolubly mounted thereon and providedwith a similar series of radially-arranged openings adapted to registerwith the openings in said port-plate, a distributing and closing conecentrally located above said openings forming part of saiddistributing-chamber, and means for revolving said distributing-chamberas desired.

6. The combination with a blast-furnace,- of a port-plate secured on thetop thereof and provided with a series of radially-arranged openings, adistributing-chamber revolubly mounted upon said port-plate and providedwith a similar series of radially-arranged open ings adapted to registerwith the openings in the port-plate aforesaid, a distributing-conelocated centrally above said openings, and a receiving-hopper locatedabove said cone and adapted to be lowered upon or raised from said cone.

7. The combination with a blast-furnace, of a port-plate secured on thetop thereof and provided with a series of radiallyarranged openings, adistributing-chamber revolubly mounted upon said port-plate and providedwith a series of radially-arranged openings adapted to register with theopenings in the port -plate aforesaid, a distributingcone placedcentrally above said openings and forming part of saiddistributing-chamber, and a receiving-hopper located above said cone,adapted to be lowered upon or raised from the cone aforesaid, saidhopper being provided with guides to direct its movement.-

8. The combination with a blast-furnace, of a port-plate secured on thetop thereof and provided with a series of radially-arranged openings, adistributing-chamber revolubly mounted upon said port-plate and providedwith a series of radially-arranged openings adapted to register with theopenings in the port plate aforesaid, a distributing cone placedcentrally above said openings and forming part of saiddistributing-chamber, a receiving-hopper located above said cone,adapted to be lowered upon or raised from the cone aforesaid, saidhopper being provided with guides to direct its movement, and a skip orother means for supplying material to said receiving-hopper. I i

9. Ablast-furnace having a top-closing por tion provided withradially-arranged openings, a closed distributing-chamber revolublymounted thereon and provided with radiallyarranged openings adapted toregister with those aforesaid, and means for revolving said chamber asdesired.

10. In a blast-furnace, the combination of a frame havingradially-arranged members extending horizontally over the top of thefurnace and rigidly secured to the top thereof, a charging apparatusfirmly fastened to said frame, and a number of explosion-ports arrangedin the upper walls of said furnace and provided with doors which willautomat= ically open with excess of pressure.

11. The combination with a blast-furnace,

of aframe having radially-arranged members extending horizontally overthe top of the furnace and secured to the top thereof, said frame beingprotected by fireproof material, and a charging apparatus supported bysaid frame.

12. In a blast-furnace, the combination of a brick arch formed in thetop thereof and provided with a series of radially-arranged openings, aport-plate having corresponding openings superimposed thereon, a closedrev- 01 uble distributing-chamber mounted thereon having a similarseries of openings adapted to register With those aforesaid, means forsupplying stock to said distributing-chamber, and mechanism forrevolving the same as desired.

13. The combination with a blast-furnace, of a circular port-platemounted on the top thereof provided with series of radially-arrangedopenings, a track on the outer circumference of said plate, adistributing-chamber revolubly mounted on said plate and provided with aseries of openings adapted to register with those in the port-plateaforesaid, wheels on said distributing-chamber arranged to roll on saidtrack, and means for revolving said distributing-chamber as desired.

14. The combination with a blast-furnace provided with a series ofradially-arranged openings in the top of the brickwork thereof, of acircular port-plate mounted thereon and provided with a similar seriesof openings connectingwith those aforesaid, and a distributing-chamberrevolubly mounted on said portplate and provided with a correspondingseries of openings adapted to register with the openings in theport-plate aforesaid.

15. In a blast-furnace top, the combination of a port-plate providedwith a series of radially-arranged holes and intervening solid portions,a distributing-chamber revolubly' mounted thereon and provided with asimilar series of radially-arranged holes adapted to register with theholes in said port-plate, and

a distributing and closing cone, centrally arranged above the aforesaidholes, forming part of said distributing-chamber, saiddistributing-chamber being also provided with a dome or cover having acentral opening therein for the reception of material upon said cone.

16. The combination with a blast-furnace, of a port-plate secured to thetop thereof and provided With a series .of radially-arranged holes, adistributing chamber revolubly mounted upon said port-plate and providedwith a similar series of radially-arranged holes adapted to registerwith the holes in the port plate aforesaid, a distributing cone placedcentrally above said holes, said distributing-chamber being alsoprovided with a dome or cover having a central opening therein, areceiving-hopper located within said central opening above said cone andadapted to be lowered upon or raised from the cone'aforesaid.

17. In a blast-furnace-charging apparatus, the combination of aport-plate secured to the furnace-top and having a series ofradially-arranged holes, a distributing-chamber mounted thereon providedwith a series of radially-arranged holes in the bottom thereof, adaptedto register with the holes aforesaid, a centrally-arranged closing anddistributing cone placed above said holes and forming part of saidchamber, a dome orcover on said chamber provided. with a centralopening, and areceiving-hopper located within said central opening abovethe cone aforesaid and adapted to rest upon or be raised above said conefor the purpose of discharging material into said chamber and closingsaid central opening.

In testimony whereof I hereto affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

SAMUEL W. VAUGI-IEN.

Witnesses:

GEO. E. THACKRAY, D. J. J ONES.

